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Side by side

amika The Kure Intense Strength Repair Mask vs L'Oreal Paris Elvive Total Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm

90% function match · 8 of the 10 functions we compared match Formula overlap 52%. amika The Kure Intense Strength Repair Mask and L'Oreal Paris Elvive Total Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm share 4 ingredients among each other's most prominent.

Based on your consultation

Which of these fits your hair?

We check your pattern, moisture need, scalp, fragrance tolerance, weight sensitivity and more against each formula — and say which one lines up.

Your profile at a glance

  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here

When each one is the right call

What each formula is built for, from its own ingredient list.

  • The Kure Intense Strength Repair Mask — maximum slip
  • Total Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm — maximum slip

Side by side

Every trait, aligned

One row per trait, read from each product’s own ingredient list and record. A dash means we have not researched that field for that product — it is not a “no”.

Trait
amika The Kure Intense Strength Repair Mask — 8.4 oz container amika

The Kure Intense Strength Repair Mask

  • Mask / treatment
  • Salon
  • Sulfate-free
  • Moisture-rich
L'Oreal Paris Elvive Total Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm — 8.5 oz container L'Oreal Paris Elvive

Total Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm

  • Mask / treatment
  • Drugstore
  • Sulfate-free
  • Moisture-rich
Price, size & price per ounce
$44.36 8.4 oz · $5.28/oz
$7.99 8.5 oz
Value / price positioning
Upper-mid price for a treatment $$$$$ Salon tier · costs more than 69% of the 347 masks and treatments we’ve priced
Not enough priced masks and treatments to place it Drugstore tier
Best for hair types
Curly–Coily A heavy formula: coarse, curlier strands carry it without flattening. Your hair
All types Nothing in the formula or the claims narrows this to one pattern. Your hair
Moisture level Same
Moderate Humectants in the working part of the formula. Your hair
Moderate Humectants in the working part of the formula. Your hair
Oils and butters Same
Low Oils are present, but low enough to be a finishing touch. Your hair
Present, lower down Oils are present, but low enough to be a finishing touch. Your hair
Slip / detangling Same
High Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula. Your hair
High Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula. Your hair
Weight on hair Differs
Rich Heavy butters and waxes in the first eight ingredients. Your hair
Medium Middle of the range — noticeable on fine hair, light on coarse hair. Your hair
Fragrance
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
Protein Same
Minor Protein appears, low enough to be a supporting ingredient. Your hair
Minor Protein appears, low enough to be a supporting ingredient. Your hair
Silicone / wax buildup Same
High Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them. Your hair
High Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Moderate Your hair
Moderate Your hair
Time on the hair
Short A short wait — it fits inside an ordinary shower. Your hair
Formula completeness
out of 10
Covers the core
out of 10
Covers the core
Who should choose this
  • Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
  • Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
  • Coarse or dry hairthat absorbs everything you give it
  • Cuticle-smoothing pHa pH adjuster brings it to the acidic range hair prefers
  • Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
  • Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
  • Porous, damaged hairceramides are in the list
  • Short shower windowsit works in ten minutes or less
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Curly-method routinesthese silicones need a detergent to remove
  • Oily scalp or fine hairthat gets weighed down
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Curly-method routinesthese silicones need a detergent to remove
  • Very dry or damaged hairit contains fast-drying alcohol
from the formula stated by the brand reported by reviewers Scale: 1 dot low · 5 dots high, within this product type.
More facts about each one
Type
Mask / treatment
Mask / treatmentcream
Where to buy
Brand website · Grocery / mass · Salons
Grocery / mass · Target · Drugstore
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • sulfate-free
Cruelty-free
Cruelty-free · label states
Scent
Scented, not described
Scented, not described
Time on hair
3–5 min
How often
weekly
every wash
Treatment focus
multi

Facts as we recorded them. A dash means we have not researched that field for that product — it is not a "no".

The bottom line

The bottom line depends on your hair

Which of these two suits you is a question about your hair, not about them. The consultation answers it — and tells you what your routine needs around it.

Take the consultation

$49.00 once, for your consultation and hair profile. No subscription, no required purchases.

The detail behind the table

Where the readings above come from: the ingredient lists themselves, each brand’s claims checked against them, what owners report, and cost per ounce in context.

Shared and distinct ingredients

Shared and distinct ingredients

Computed from the ingredient lists as printed. "Shared" means both lists carry it; where it sits on each label is stated, because position is what tells you how much.

What both formulas carry

IngredientThe Kure Intense Strength Repair MaskTotal Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Cetearyl Alcohol
Softens
#2Leading
#2Leading
Behentrimonium Chloride
Detangles
#5Supporting
#3Leading
Glycerin
Moisturizes
#7Supporting
#7Supporting
Isopropyl Alcohol
Drying
#26Below the 1% line
#8Supporting
Fragrance
Fragrance
#31Below the 1% line
#9Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Full ingredient list — The Kure Intense Strength Repair Mask (34)
Full ingredient list — Total Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm (28)

Claims check

What each brand says, against what each formula shows

Claims are quoted from each brand. We only mark one supported, partly supported, or conflicting when that product’s ingredient list actually speaks to it.

VerdictsThe Kure Intense Strength Repair MaskTotal Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm
Supported
0
1
Partly supported
0
1
Stated by brand
1
1
Potential conflict
0
0

The Kure Intense Strength Repair Mask

  • 5.6x stronger hair, 82% less breakage + 9.2x more conditioned hair after one use.Stated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.

Total Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm

  • Addresses five signs of damage: split ends, weakness, roughness, dullness, dehydrationSupportedHelps hair feel hydrated.
  • Repairs up to one year of damage to hair's smoothness in one usePartly supportedSupports the surface, not a treatment.
  • Intense care without weigh down for silky, healthy-looking hairStated by brandSubjective feel varies by hair.

What owners say

What people report

Recurring themes our researchers wrote in their own words from sourced reviews. We do not store or scrape star ratings, and we never balance one product’s themes against another’s by inventing them.

Both praised for moisture. Amika The Kure Intense Strength Repair Mask draws complaints about dryness and breakage.

The Kure Intense Strength Repair Mask

Reviewers with thick, dry, or bleached/highlighted hair repeatedly describe the mask as deeply hydrating with a noticeable shine boost.

reviewers on the brand's EU retail listing, several naming thick or color-treated hair

Multiple reviewers say the mask is so thick and rich that a small amount lasts a long time even used weekly.

regular weekly users

A minority of reviewers found the mask underwhelming for the price, describing the hydration as lacking despite the repair marketing.

a subset of reviewers who said they would not repurchase

Total Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm

Strong hydration/moisture benefit noted especially for dry, frizzy hair

Target verified-purchase reviews

Works across hair textures including curly (3B-3C) and color-treated hair

Target verified-purchase reviews

Effective at repairing multiple signs of damage in one product

Target verified-purchase reviews (4.42/5, 4258 reviews)

Price check

Cost per ounce, in context

Cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced, each at the size it is most often sold in. Value labels are computed from that percentile and from how many products that do the same job cost less; they are comparisons, not judgements about a brand.

The Kure Intense Strength Repair Mask

Against 347 masks and treatments with a computable unit price.

Value readThe Kure Intense Strength Repair MaskTotal Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm
Label
Upper-mid price for a treatmentSits in the middle of the range for masks and treatments per ounce.
Not enough priced masks and treatments to place itWe need more comparable products before we can place this.

Computed from cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced, and from how many products that do the same job cost less. It is a comparison, not a judgement about the brand.

Compare with something else

Close formulas to each of these, as their own comparison pages.

The Kure Intense Strength Repair Mask · Total Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm · All masks and treatments in the library

How this page was made

  • This page is assembled from the same researched records the individual product pages render: identity, each ingredient list as printed, each brand's own claims, dated price observations, and review themes written in our researchers' own words. Nothing on it is written per comparison.
  • We do not rank these against each other. Which of them suits you depends on your hair, and that is what the consultation works out.
  • The formula similarity percentage is a stored, precomputed number: position-weighted overlap of the two ingredient lists blended with agreement on the attributes we derive. It measures how alike two formulas are, not how well either works.
  • The value band is a fixed label over two stored numbers: this product’s cost per ounce as a percentile of every product of this type we have priced, each at the size it is most often sold in, and how many products we score as doing the same job cost at least a quarter less per ounce.
  • The "Is this right for you?" panel reads only your own consultation answers, and it applies exactly the filters our recommendation engine applies. It is computed when you load the page and is never stored on it.
  • 10 sources were consulted across the products on this page.
  • Ingredient order tells you relative amount only above roughly 1%. Prices are observations on the dates shown and change without notice. We do not sell these products and take no placement fees.
  • This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.

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